Abstractionist, multi-awarded painter and Filipino contemporary artist, Raul Isidro shares his passion for the arts by sharing his time in promoting art and honing talents of next generation artists. As an innovator in the field and educator, his earnest belief that "art must be felt to be fully enjoyed" has intensified his crusade to develop and encourage art appreciation in the grassroots.
Demonstrating his creative genius in numerous mediums as a professional artist, Raul Isidro's artistic accomplishments and creativity has been showcased in various art exhibitions locally and in foreign shores including Germany, Israel, Spain, China, the Netherlands, Australia, and the United States.

Acrylic on Canvas

Acrylic

Acrylic on Canvas & Gold Leaf

Mixed Media

Monoprint

Printmaking

Acrylic on Canvas

Relief Mixed Media

Photos of Raul Isidro

Retrospect

Masters of cultural adolescence struggled to seek for their very own unique identities and Raul Isidro, the artist, the art educator, and art leader is no exception. At 70, Isidro continues to be a prolific artist, innovative, actively participates in artistic activities (i.e., art forum, art workshop, nude and landscape sketching, group exhibit, judging art contests, etc.) and unselfishly shares his knowledge to up-and-coming artists. Isidro is indeed an art guru of Philippine contemporary art.

An Art Titan from the 60’s to the present, Isidro is a true visionary, never exhausted in exploring and venturing in the use of experimental media. He has worked on stones, metal and wood for his sculpture and started working on mixed media abstracts in the 60’s with the use of acrylic, firstly introduced in the country at the time. He experimented with the use of gold leaf on canvas in the late 80’s while in the United States, but has shown it publicly only in the early 90’s. Isidro’s works are predominantly influenced by the changing mood of mother earth and the environment.

Even after more than a hundred solo and group exhibits held in the country and in major cities in the U.S., Israel, India, Indonesia, Spain, West Germany, France, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, China and Singapore, Isidro remains the same hardworking artist who paints almost every day.

As a student in 1963 and later as a professional, Isidro has won several awards in painting, sculpture and printmaking. In 1967, he won an award in the 17th Annual Shell Painting Competition. In 1969, Isidro bagged the top prize in the 1st National Sculpture Competition at the Luneta Park, Manila. As a young art practitioner, Isidro has won in all three categories: painting, sculpture and printmaking.

In the 70’s, while he was head of the College of Fine Arts of the Philippine Women’s University, Isidro has influenced and inspired young artists under his tutelage to become frequent winners in art competitions. In 1983, his peers and colleagues recognized his leadership and elected him as President of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) from 2000-2006.

Isidro’s awards and citations include The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in the field of fine arts in 1979, The Most Outstanding Calbayognon by the City of Calbayog in 1993, the Patnubay ng Sining at Kaliningan Award at the Araw ng Maynila Celebration in 1997, The Outstanding Thomasian Award by the University of Santo Tomas in 2006. In 1981, Isidro was an awardee of the Australian Government Cultural Grant and was commissioned to give lectures on Philippine Contemporary Art in five major universities in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.

“Raul Isidro’s abstraction is often characterized by lyrical beauty and unassuming polish whose themes and images evoke nature and its wonders. His art has the capability to remake nature. Thus the artist himself is his own nature-maker,” said Nestor Jardin, former president and cultural director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). He added, “As a leading and influential artist of our times, Raul Isidro’s unstinting devotion and dedication to his craft, coupled with his single-minded advocacy for the preeminence of the Filipino talent became an inspiration to aspiring young artists. To this we pay tribute to a man whose exceptional talents and achievements exemplify the true Filipino artist.”